Always There
by Moe-the-Insomniac
Summary: Rogue- involved in an abusive and dangerous relationship. Logan- trying everything he can to protect her. John- the boyfriend that won't let go.
1. Chapter One

Title: Always There  
Summary: Rogue- in an abusive and dangerous relationship. Logan- trying everything to protect her. John- the boyfriend who wont let go.  
  
Authors Note- Takes place after X2 because Kurt is there, but Jean didn't " die". Also, I don't know the name of the kid who can change the TV channel by blinking, but I'm calling him Ryan in the story.  
  
Disclaimer- I do not own X-Men, the movies, the comics, the characters, or anything to do with it. All belong to Marvel Comics, Stan Lee, and whoever produced the movies. Whoever it is, its not me.  
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Chapter One (first one is always short)  
Babysitter. Where did that fit his description? The guy could heal cuts in a hearbeat and slice down a human in the blink of an eye. But no, this week he was a babysitter. Scott, Jean, and Ororo were called on a mission that ' didnt have to incolce him' or some nonsense Scott muttered before leaving. The professor and Kurt went to a top secret mutant organization meeting. In other words, no one was going to be back to the mansion until at least the weekend. that left Logan, and more than two dozen minors. Honestly, he had nothig against any of them what so ever, he just wished there was a list of who could do what.  
It was late Sunday night, his first night alone with them. So far there werent any signs of a midnight invasion. Everyone was in bed except for Logan and Ryan. They became television buddies, bum grooves permantly embedded in the couch cushion. And best of all, no worries about loosing the remote.  
" Monster movies are so overrated these days" Ryan commented, blinking his eyes once again.  
" Tell me about it" Logan muttered, then gazed upwards at the cieling, " did you hear that?".  
" Hear what?".  
There it was again, " it was like a thud".  
The second time Ryan listened, there were three pounding thuds as though something was dropped, then a scream, both were muffled by the floorboards. " Who's room is that?".  
" I think it's- Rogue's" Logan barely whispered.  
The nosies stopped as fast as that had begun, Ryan went back to the television but Logan stayed eye locked on the floor above him. Allison, a younger student who was no older than six who could camoflauge her skin into her background (which Logan had a disadvantage with the other day), appeared in the doorway, dressed in her nightgown. " Rogue is sick".  
The two boys looked over at the couch where she was, " what do you mean she's sick?".  
" I'm not sure, she's lying on her floor" the girls voice slurred, " and she's making a weird noise".  
" Stay here" Logan jumped over the couch's back and rushed upstairs. She slowly approched Rogue's room very slowly. When the floorboards stopped creaking, it did sound like a mixture of groaning and crying. " Kid?" he still used the nickname that would never die.  
" Lo-gan" she muttered in two moans.   
He switched on the dim lamp on her bedside table from the switch at the door. Rogue laid on the ground in front of her bed, a blanket drapped over her waist and parts of her nightgown. " Rogue, what are you doing?". As he approched her, he saw a small rover of blood trailing down her arm. " Jesus-". Using the blanket as a shield, Logan moved her arm. Revealed to him was a pool of blood from her neck down to her stomach, and a sea of black and blue forming on her pale skin. " Rogue" he gasped.  
Her eyes were half open, " I fell" she breathed.  
Logan pulled her upper body onto his lap, brushing away the blonde strands of her hair, allowing him to see her discolored eye, " from where? The roof?".  
She began coughing, he pushed her upwards for easier breathing. " I really don't feel well".  
" Rogue, what happened?".  
Rogue moaned again, deeper in pain. She saw the blood that was oozing down her hands, " please help me" she pleaded.  
" Okay, come on" he swiftly scooped her off the floor, standing and bringing her in his arms. As fast as he could without hurting her anymore, Logan ran out of her room. John, who had been standing in the hallway nearby, was nothing more than a blur.  
" What's going on?!".  
" Go back to bed".  
Logan didn't stop until he reached Jean's lab, eyes adjusting to the bright lighting. Carefully, he placed her atop the examination table where she groaned again. It was the first time he really saw the beating she had taken. He quickly retrieved a damp washcloth from the sink, not knowing where to place it first. At first, he gently dabbed a small bit of the edge against her eye, causing her to flinch.  
" Rogue, please, talk to me, tell me what happened".  
  
Exhausted and painful, she used the last amount of energy she could find just to grab his hand. " Can you stay with me? I don't want to be alone".  
He looked into her glistening, dark eyes, hesitating an answer. " Of course I'll stay" he adjusted the blanket over her, giving her hand a little squeeze, " I'm not going anywhere". 


	2. Chapter Two

Always There  
  
Authors Note- Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I know John/Pyro is the good guy, but uh, the end of X2 kinda made me think different. The only reason I made him the bad guy is cause I love Iceman too much!  
  
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Chapter Two  
  
Throughout the remainder of the night, Logan kept a promise and stayed in the lab. Somewhere around four in the morning, exhaustion got the best of him and he fell asleep on the floor not long after Rogue. Five hours later, she woke up.  
  
" Logan?" she moaned, slowly waking, then realizing she couldn't see him, " Logan!?''.  
  
The second call jerked his nerves and pulled him awake. " Rogue, hey, it's okay" he got on his knees, grabbing her hand from over the blanket, " I'm here". He saw that the injury over her eye had become swollen and darker in color. Same with the ones down her neck. The blood that had been present earlier now dried over on her mouth and arms. " How are you feeling?".  
  
Her eyes were coated with relief and fear at the same time, " sore".  
  
Logan squeezed her hand, " you'll be alright, but just to be sure, Jean should check you out when she gets back" Rogue nodded. He didn't know how to ask the question he had in mind. There were few ways to do so, with the kind of mind she had. " Kid, what happened last night?".  
  
" I fell".  
  
" Okay, what really happened last night?".  
  
Rogue waited, " I got hurt".  
  
" Who hurt you?" he hated pressuring her, but only wanted to help. In any way.  
  
" Why do you think it was someone else?".  
  
" Because I heard you scream".  
  
She struggled to begin sitting up. Logan stood and helped her, than sat down next to her, an arm around her covered waist. " I-I think he was just mad, maybe he didn't mean it".  
  
There werent anymore questions that had to be asked. John, it was him. Logan couldn't tell any earlier. He was Rogue's boyfriend, had been for awhile, since the break up with bobby. That's what Logan despised, how she left a kind guy who had nothing more than a cold handshake, to a flame thrower. He had the chance to stop it, and he didn't, now it was too late. " I'll kill him".  
  
" Don't" she whispered, " just let it go".  
  
" How do you expect me to do that?" he was becoming overwhelmed, " he has no right to touch you, and I'm going to tell him that".  
  
Rogue jumped off the table and went after him. She pressed her hand against his bare arm, only taking a second until he stopped and jumped out of the way. " Logan if you want me to trust you, you have to convince me that I can".  
  
Logan examined each of her injuries as she was prepared to lunge at his next action. " Rogue, he could have killed you, and you want me to let him get away with it?".  
  
" John has a temper, but he's learning to control it, I swear. Last night I said some things I really shouldn't, but it won't happen again, I promise. Just don't make a big deal, I wouldn't ask if I thought it was any more important''.  
  
She was shaking, she was scared, and she was begging him not to hurt this Pyro kid. There were so many, too many, things he wanted to say at that perticular moment-  
  
What did you say that made him mad?  
  
He still had no right  
  
You can't let him think he can get away with this  
  
Are you sure you still don't have feelings for Bobby?  
  
But he didn't. Something told him that he was going to regret his decision. " Okay, but if he touches you again, I'll kill him".  
  
" Not if I do it first" she managed a weak smile.  
  
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Upon returning to the mansion with the remainder of the children, Logan and Rogue went in seperate directions. She towards her bedroom, Logan towards Bobby's, who was just leaving as he arrived.  
  
" You're John's friend, if he ever lays a finger on Rogue again, freeze him in a block of ice and come get me". 


	3. Chapter Three

Always There  
  
Authors Note- Yayness!! Thank you for the reviews everyone! I love them! You know what Alla, you're right, why didn't Logan just give Rogue his healing powers? Hhhmm, didn't think about that. Well, anyways heres the answer- because he didn't want to risk dying.  
  
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Chapter Three  
  
Before hand, Logan never had a grudge against John. Then again, he didn't really know him, still doesn't. But he knew Rogue and knew John was the one hurting her. Logan used the word ' hurting' because he didn't know if that was the first time. Rogue mentioned a temoer, maybe it wasn't the only time she had been hit.  
  
Ever since the incident, Logan had been on the edge about them, especially at night, when he couldn't physically see her. His mysterious nightmares subsided with the thoughts of terror that lingered his mind. The one thought of torture was if he had known that very night that John had something to be blamed for, he wouldn't have dealt with it faster than immediatly. After three nights of anything but sleep, he finally took sleeping pills in hopes to relax. Coincidentally, it was the same night Rogue crept into his rooms during the late hours.  
  
Logan was not entirely out cold, no medication could ever do that to him. But he hadn't heard the masked screaming a few rooms away.   
  
" Logan" her leathered hand touched his wrist, " Logan, please wake up".  
  
He rolled over, " Rogue?" the dim moonlight was enough to stinf his eyes and he could only see the outline of her, " what's wrong?".  
  
" Can I sleep in here?".  
  
" Why?" he sat up, " what happened?".  
  
" Nothing".  
  
By the tone of her whisper, she anxious and lying, he could tell. Either way, L og an moved over to the other side of his bed and pulled back the covers. She laid down and covered herself.  
  
" Thank you".  
  
" Not a problem".  
  
Not long after arriving, hard footsteps echoed on the other side of the wall. Logan stirred awake, again, loong over and seeing that Rogue was hidden under the blankets.   
  
" What are you doing?" the chance to answer was interrupted by her name being called. " John" he gasped.  
  
" He's mad again" Rogue whispered.  
  
Logan moved little of the blanet do her face was revealed, " did he hit you again?" she shook her head, " but you're hiding". She wouldn't budge, " Rogue, what's going on?".  
  
The yelling stoppped and there was a knock on the door.  
  
She closed her eyes and began rbeathing harder. Logan got out of bed and stepped quietly towards the door. He looked back at Rogue before opening it.  
  
There was a huge sight of relief when the person on the other side was Bobby.  
  
He held out the silver communicator (a/n- that thing that they found in Scott's car in X2, I don't know what it's called). " It's Doctor Grey".   
  
" Thanks" Logan took it and glanced down each direction of the hall, " Jean?".  
  
" Hey Logan, we could really use you out here" she referred to the mission they were currently on in Flordia.  
  
He leaned against the wall, " I thought you didn't need me?".  
  
" Well we do now, Storm can be back there in fifteen minutes".  
  
Logan's mind snapped back to current events, " no, Jean, I can't".  
  
" Why?".  
  
He looked in the direction Rogue was lying in, " I can't leave the kids, I'm the only adult here".  
  
There was static leaking through the device, " we're really short handed, I wouldn't ask otherwise. You'd only have to be here for a day, Bobby and Rogue are there, so is Colossus, they'd be fine".  
  
He wasn't going to win, and Jean had a point, it wasn't even a whole day. John probably went to bed, and teenagers slept late. Besides, Bobby was there, Rogue was safe. " See you in fifteen minutes" and he disconnected. Logan gestured Bobby into the hall, " I have to go, I'll be back tomorrow. But don't let her out of your sight, not even for a second, okay?".  
  
Bobby nodded, " can you tell me what's going on?".  
  
Logan checked the corridor again, " John's been beating her" he whispered, and stopped Bobby's reaction, " she's more scared that something will happen to him".  
  
" That bastard".  
  
" Yeah, I know, I'm going to take care of him when I get back, but in the mean time, take care of her".  
  
Bobby waited until Logan began walking before a question emerged. " Hey, what do I do if he hits her? In case something happens".  
  
Logan stopped, not needing any thought. " Kill him". 


	4. Chapter Four

Always There  
  
Authors Note- Hey guys, sorry I havent updated. I turned 16 yesterday (the 27th) and I've been practiving my driving.......1 mailbox down, 8 to go. Anyways, I think I may have lied when I said nothing was going to happen to Bobby.........(thanks for the reviews!)  
  
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Chapter Four  
  
At the time of his departure, Logan knew leaving wasn't the best idea he had ever had, but he didn't know that leaving that mansion was going to be the worse thing he could ever to do Rogue. Unintentionally. However, what he had told Bobby scared him enough to do more than what was asked of him.  
  
He spent the remainder of the night outside Logan's bedroom door, where she still was hidden from John. Even through paranoia, he eventually, and unwillingly, fell asleep. Rogue awoke and found him in the doorway hours later.  
  
" Bobby....." she whispered. The moment her hand was laid over his arm, he jumped, " it's alright, it's just me" she calmed him.  
  
Bobby regained a normal breathing pattern, " you scared me".  
  
" What are you doing out here?".  
  
He ran his hands over her face, still in the waking process. " Logan told me to stay close to you while he's gone".  
  
Rogue froze, " Logan's gone?".  
  
" Yeah, Doctor Grey called, I think they needed him on that mission they're on".  
  
The fearful look in her eyes darkened, " he's gone" she repeated.  
  
Bobby watched her, not sure what was safe to say and what wasnt. " He'll be back soon, and until he does, I'm here".  
  
She looked over at him, her eyes glistening, " he told you, right?". Bobby hesitated, he couldn't lie, not when she was like this. He nodded. " You must think I'm a goddamn doormat".  
  
" Of course not" he softly said.  
  
" I can't control it!" she cried.  
  
Bobby leaned forward, embracing her in his arms, not caring if any of her skin was exposed (but it wasn't). He had held her many times before, but not once had she been crying at the time. In the two years they dated, he held her countless times. And even after a brutal end to their relationship, he was still willing to do so. " It doesn't matter, he has no right to hurt you in any way".  
  
" Maybe I deserve it".  
  
That's how it ended, she left him for John and he was crushed as the ice he could create. Bobby held her tighter, " no you don't".  
  
A shadow was casted over the two, Bobby looked up, and there was John. A cold, stern experssion covered his face, Bbby was expecting the worse. After all, the friendship of Pyro and Iceman was destroyed over the girl. Rogue saw him too, then lightly grabbed Bobby's shirt.  
  
" Rogue, can I please talk to you" he eyed Bobby, " alone".  
  
She was trembling under Bobby's hands, and it wasn't his cold touch. " Okay".  
  
Bobby grabbed her wrist, " you don't have to go" he whispered.  
  
" We'll only be in her room" John smirked, " and I'm sure you won't be far".  
  
Rogue got up, " I'll be back". John grabbed her arm, she winced slightly as he pulled her away.  
  
Shit, why did he let her go? He promised Logan, and himself, that she wouldn't leave his sight. Especially with John. Bobby scrambled to his feet and ran down the hall to Rogue's bedroom.  
  
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In an abandoned warehous outside Miami, Flordia, the jet had been landed outdoors ever since Logan had arrived. He and Jean were standing on the ramp, discussing their next plan of action with Scott when Storm yelled from inside the cockpit-  
  
" Guys, come listen to this, quick!".  
  
The three tripped over each other to get back inside. Storm held the silver communicator, oppisite the one Logan had left with Bobby, in the palm of her hand. With the four crowded around it, the sounds were more clear. There was static, very little, but it didn't cover up the screaming, the crashing, the crying. There was another scream, rattling Logan's mind. That was Rogue. But before he could say so-  
  
Jean beat him to it, " she's hurt, she's really hurt".  
  
A/N- Okay, I just made up that ending, but you should get the idea. 


	5. Chapter Five

Always There  
  
Authors Note- Thank you for the reviews and the birthday wishes!  
  
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Chapter Five  
  
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Before the jet touched ground, Logan did and took off running from the ramp. Jean waited, frantically and impatiently, then went after him, yelling for him to slow down. But he didn't. Faster than Kurt could have transported, Logan raced down the hall to where Rogue's bedroom was, afraid of what was to be found. Coming to a fast stop, his heart was pounding rapidly through his chest, and he became lightheaded. He also let out several curse words at what was there. Two lifeless looking bodies, Bobby and Rogue.  
  
Rogue was closer to him, even if she wasn't, he probably would have went to her first- besides, he heard Jean gasp behind him and would have gone to Bobby's aid. Logan's knees ebcame soaked as he knelt in the pool of blood- her blood.  
  
It was worse than the first time.  
  
The most devistating sight. Her face, had it been anyone else, they wouldn't recognize her. Her dark hair and clothes tinted red by the blood, it covered her skin like thick paint.  
  
" Rogue- Rogue please, please open your eyes" he knew that wouldn't happen. He tore off her glove-  
  
" Logan no!" Jean grabbed his wrist and pulled it away, " no, Logan, don't, I can help them" he tried to touch her again. " No, by the time you could heal her, she'd kill you".  
  
He blinked several times to cease the tears, '' is Bobby alright?".  
  
" He's been knocked out, that's all- we have to get them both to the lab, right now".  
  
" Shouldn't we call an ambulance or something?".  
  
" That's not a good idea, you have to trust me".  
  
Logan pulled Rogue into his lap and lifted her into his arms. Even while unconcious, she had her arm around his neck.  
  
" Walk slowly" Jean ordered, " we don't know of her injuries so we can't risk making them worse".  
  
Slowly. He had to slowly walk by John's room. Logan saw him, through the crack in the doorway, him laying on his bed, reading. That son of a bitch actually thought he was going to get away with this, acting sly when two people were nearly dead. He saw Logan, his dark eyes meeting another, and he could have played som act to at least pretend to care. All Logan wanted was to rip out his claws and tear John to shreds, but it was impossible at the moment. As Rogue's blood oozed onto his shirt, Logan knew he was the reason why this was happening.  
  
Rogue was so limp and lifeless feeling when he laid her on the examination table, but the slight movement of her neck and the soft sigh was somewhat relief that she was alright. Logan glanced over his shoulder to where Ororo was with Bobby. He wasn't telepathic, but he knew Bobby had tried to protect her.  
  
" What can I do?" he turned back to Jean, who was carefully cleaning the blood off Rogue's skin.  
  
" Nothing at the moemnt". That was his cue to take off running, " Logan, don't!".  
  
He didn't listen, he just kept running. Jean yelled for Ororo to go after him, which she did, but had no chance of catching. It's not like anyone really wanted to stop him, even when he made it to John's room.  
  
The doorknob cracked through the wall after Logan forced it back. John sprung to the floor and Ororo stopped in the doorway.  
  
" Do you have any idea who's blood this is?" Logan gestured the blood stained on his shirt.  
  
John had a sly smirk pasted across his face, but his everything else because of the one spectator. " What? What's going on?".  
  
" John, did you see or hear anything strange this morning?" Ororo asked.  
  
" Of course he saw it" he said through gritted teeth, " he did it".  
  
John shrugged, " I didn't do anything. Rogue and I had a fight so I thought she needed some space".  
  
Logan was trembling, desperatly trying to hold back his extreme anger. " How did you know it was Rogue?".  
  
" Logan you told him" it felt as thoguh Ororo was taking John's side, which she really had no intention oh, " if y ou touch him you can get arrested. But you don't go around blaming people".  
  
" He did it" Logan didn't blink while staring at John, " I know that, and he knows that. As much as it's worth getting arrested, we're going to have all the proof we need, just as soon as Bobby wakes up".  
  
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Logan managed to calm down to very angry upon returning to the lab. Colossus passed him on the way, softly smiling, in comparison to his deceiving outer apperance. Neither had woken, not even close. He saw Rogue very briefly before Jean approched him.  
  
" By the looks of it, she has two cracked ribs, a broken wrist, and her jaw is dislocated, but other than that, scraps and bruises. Give it time and she'll be alright".  
  
" What about Bobby?".  
  
Jean shrughhed, " small concussion, he should wake up by tonight".  
  
Logan tried to get into the depth of her eyes, " there's something you're not telling me, right?" sometimes he didn't like his sixth sense.   
  
She sighed, " I want you to know, John is under the room arrest until Bobby wakes up, that's what Colossus is for" it was then obvious that Bobby was going to be the first in waking up. " She was raped" the room around him became a long blur, all sounds were miles away, and there was only those three words. The most violent worl, one word, that means so much and was intended against someone that he cared about so much. " Logan?".  
  
" That son of a-".  
  
Jean grabbed his wrists, " listen to me, I need you here, Rogue needs you here. Stay and talk to her, please, just stay" she felt how thick his blood vessels were getting, " please stay".  
  
He nodded and she released him. Slowly, Logan approched Rogue's unconcious body, not sure how to react to her face. Despite how she looked at the moment, she was still Rogue. Her name, her personality, ir was still there, and he had to remember that.   
  
" Hey kid" her gloves were still on, so he grabbed her hand, " I'm sorry I ledt, it was a really stupid idea. But I promise I won't leabe again. I let him hurt you, but I won't let him get away with it, not this time. So get better, okay?" he bent down and kissed her hand, " I love you". 


End file.
